Naturally, I'm very happy about my nominations, and it's neat to be nominated for both the Campbell and Best Novel in the same year. I figured that was not the usual thing, so I went back to see how many times it's happened before. The answer: once, legitimately, in 1984, when R.A. MacAvoy did it with her novel Tea With the Black Dragon. It also happened in 1989 but as I understand it there was some issue with ballot stuffing, and the book in question was withdrawn from consideration. I didn't stuff any ballots. I swear. Anyway, it's a fun bit of trivia. I'm the Buzz Aldrin of Hugo/Campbell whammies!

I'm also chuffed about the company I'm keeping, both with the Campbell and with the Hugo. In the Campbells, I know Chris and Sarah personally and couldn't be happier for them, and will now hie myself to the bookstore to catch up with Bishop, Swainston and Sanderson. As for the Hugos -- well, you know. I've been pushing Accelerando on people all year, so I can't say I'm surprised to see Charlie there. He's earned this, and so has Accelerando. GRRM and I had an autographing session together at Boskone which was a lot of fun (it'll be no surprise for y'all to learn he signed more books than I). And both Ken MacLeod and Robert Charles Wilson did me a mitzvah by providing wonderful quotes for Old Man's War which went on the cover; I'm delighted and genuinely humbled to be in their company.

(The third SF writer who provided a quote for OMW, Cory Doctorow, is also nominated for a Hugo, in the Novelette category; Donato Giancola, who gave OMW its hardcover art, is up for the Hugo in the Professional Artist category. Coincidence?!???!???!? Well, yes. But a lovely coincidence it is.)

Aside from the nominees mentioned above I'm chuffed to see other friends and acquaintances up for awards this year, particularly James Patrick Kelly, Kelly Link, David Hartwell and Bob Eggleton. I'm disappointed to see that Patrick Nielsen Hayden is not nominated for Best Professional Editor; he only edited two of this year's Best Novel nominees, after all. But what are you going to do.

Again, I'm delighted and humbled, and I thank those of you who nominated me for these awards. I'm going to have fun with this. And, of course, congratulations to all the other nominees. I hope you guys have fun with this, too.

Posted by john at March 22, 2006 05:36 AM

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I can't speak to GRMM's character, but I certainly felt that OMW was better than A Feast for Crows. At any rate, congraulations. If you're the Buzz Aldrin of Campbell/Hugo awards, what is the Tang of Campbell/Hugo awards?

So far it appears to be only up on Usenet, in a post to rec.arts.sf.fandom by awards administrator John Lorentz. I imagine it'll show up on Locus and on the LACon website once people on the West Coast wake up.

Congratulations, John -- this is fantastic! Now, you *will* remember all the little people when you win, right?

John Scalzi | March 22, 2006 01:37 PM

Who now?

One of the nice thing about SF awards is that there's not all that much fame that comes with them; when you wake up the next morning you're still you. I expect my memory vis-a-vis people, little or otherwise, will remain constant. And if it isn't then someone should beat me senseless.

John Scalzi, this year's Hugo winner for Old Man's War, was "totally dogpiled" by angry fans, according to a witness, the morning after the Hugo ceremonies. One fan, who wishes to remain anonymous, tells us, "I've loved reading [Scalzi's blog] the Whatever for years, and we were all really excited when he got his Hugo nom. But when he showed up the next day in the hotel lobby surrounded by big guys in black suits and dark glasses, demanding the hotel restaurant be cleared just so he could eat the goddamn continental breakfast, we knew something was, you know, not right."

Further suspicions were aroused by the fact that Scalzi's ordinarily outgoing daughter, Athena, was to be seen wandering the convention with a marked look of embarrassment on her face, and at one point could be heard to mutter, "Why is daddy acting like, so stupid? I mean, he doesn't even have enough hair to wear that much gel!" Some Worldcon pundits have suggested that, in addition to winning the award, Scalzi's bizarre sudden narcissism may be a form of "acting out," in response to reported feelings of frustration that, prior to his win, more fans at Worldcon were asking for Athena's autograph than his.

Feelings came to a boil when Scalzi rudely snubbed a wheelchair-bound fan who had "hitchhiked all the way to LA" just to get Scalzi to sign his first printing of Old Man's War, reported selling some of his blood plasma to secure funding for the trip. "There was suddenly this huge scrum, with Scalzi at the bottom," said one convention staffer.

1. Congrats, of course. Gaiman's line is "itsanhonorjustotbenominated" but still, good luck/good work on getting the actual prize.

2. A Feast for Crows is the worst A Song of Ice and Fire book so far. The next ones could be worse, I dunno. But AFfC was kind of... blah. If I hadn't sworn dark pledges and blood-oaths to that series about half way through A Clash of Kings... I probably would call it "the most disappointing book I read in 2005," with the side note that I don't read nearly as much in the last few years as I did in my liberavenous youth, and I had exceptionally high expectations for it, which I had thought were earned on the power of the previous 3 books...

That was hilarious, Mr. Wagner. And congrats with the nomination, John.

If it's an honor just to be nominated, you should hang on to the letters informing you of those nominations. Each letter is imbued with honor, obviously, and hoarding them would surely transfer that to you, making you an increasingly honorable man. Eventually you'll have so much honor you can cash it in for something cool, like a mountain bike.

Scott | March 22, 2006 07:59 PM

Yes Martin... I am well aware... after months and months of periodically checking G.R.R.M.'s website for word on A Feast for Crows... I know it.

I also read 800+ pages for a little bit of "board resetting" without narrative drive, following about 2000 pages of eyeball murdering reading-stoppage-forbidding tumult. And even following that reset, it's not as if we're even on the brink of conflict OR resolution.
AGoT carried us through a lot of setup with a mystery-story that I found pretty interesting

(it also had the advantage of being the story where I get to play "What's this world like", whereas now we get new little places (Dorne, Braavos) but it's definitely not as exciting (I don't get to play "What's this world like" when reading real-world travel books either)).

It's possible that in "original vision" this board-resetting I sat through was supposed to be carried along by the things that are going to happen in A Dance with Dragons, but it doesn't change the RELATIVE joylessness of AFfC (I mean... I did get a malicious kick out of how self-satisfied and incapable Cersei Lannister is).

So, I still have high hopes for A Dance with Dragons... but that goes back to blood-pacts and unholy oaths.

And even following that reset, it's not as if we're even on the brink of conflict...

Well, the Greyjoys have invaded and taken over almost the entire west coast, with a eye towards conquering the whole of the Seven Kingdoms. I'd call that the brink of conflict for sure. With King's Landing in total disarray they stand a good chance of succeeding.

I agree that AFFC is a transitional volume in the series but I think it's setting the stage for a lot of cataclysm to come. Just because there are less battles doesn't mean there was less story.

Anyway, this isn't the GRRM board so maybe we ought to stop here!

Peter | March 22, 2006 11:51 PM

Congratulations, John!

I have to admit, I hope AFFC gets it -- I was disappointed by the book, but Martin's worst, IMHO, is still very, very good, and I feel that he should have received at least one for the series.

Also, thank you very much for responding promptly to my email! It was a very pleasant surprise for me the next day -- I can only imagine how many you get. :)

Mark Ensley | March 23, 2006 01:03 AM

!
Oh, wait:
!!

Jon Marcus | March 23, 2006 11:16 AM

I'll take my place in the long line. Congratulations, it's well-deserved.

My guess: No Campbell for you this year, but you get it next year. I haven't checked, but I think it's been some time since someone won who wasn't in their second year of eligibility -- the example closest to my heart, Jo Walton, lost her first year and won in a landslide her second. (The Worldcon was in San Jose that second year. Jo didn't attend...but I live in the Bay Area....)

Anyway, I look forward to meeting you in person at LACon. Have you considered getting the organizers to set up a kaffeeklatsch? I'd jump at the chance to attend one.